A little history I found from Wiki:
Robert J. Vlught, a student at St. Mary's College and newspaper copy-boy, won the first annual Cross-City Race on January 1, 1912 in a time of 44:10.[3][4][5] In 1965, the name of the race was changed to Bay to Breakers.[6][7][8]
Started as a way to lift the city's spirits after the disastrous 1906 San Francisco earthquake, it is the longest consecutively run footrace in the world (other races' courses and lengths have changed over time). During World War II participation sometimes slipped below 50 registrants, but the tradition carried on. With 110,000 participants, the Bay to Breakers race held on May 18, 1986 was recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's largest footrace.[5] That record number was partly the product of the running fad of the 1980s; currently the average participation is between 70,000 and 80,000. Race organizers estimated a field of 60,000 participants in 2008, 33,000 of whom were registered.[9] The San Francisco Examiner publishes a list of the first 10,000 finishers the day after the race each year.
Large numbers of participants walk the route behind the runners. Some participants dress in elaborate costumes or, though not technically allowed, wear nothing at all (except footwear), thus lending a party atmosphere to the event. One festive tradition is the tortilla toss, during which runners throw tortillas at one another to pass time (similar to balloon-batting at rock concerts).
Bay to Breakers 2005. (14100031).jpg
Other oddities are always on the scene, including traditional characters such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Spider-Man, as well as other unique characters spawned for the race. There is also a group of much-beloved "salmon" participants who don elaborate full-body costumes to stagger upstream through the race. [10]
The route is typically dotted with various local bands performing. At the end of the race is "Footstock," a gathering where participants and spectators can enjoy musical performances by various musical acts.
In February 2009, city officials and race sponsors announced major changes to the race regulations. The regulations included an official ban on floats, alcohol, drunkenness and nudity.[11] The changes were made to assuage the concerns of San Francisco residents along the parade route, who say the race has gotten out of hand in recent years.[12] The news sparked outrage amongst many Bay Area residents who said the changes would destroy everything that has made the race a national treasure for most of the last century.[11] On February 27, 2009, city officials and race organizers announced that they were lifting many of the restrictions.[13] In particular, floats will now be allowed as long as they are registered, and nudity is not mentioned anywhere in the new restrictions. Although the bans on alcohol and drunkenness technically remain in effect, all "zero tolerance" language has been removed.[14]
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Now you all knew about the history, the following was the 99th Bay to Breaker
Time flies, it's ING B2B again. Because I registered very early, it only costs me $35 this year.
However, the bus ticket costs me another $15 !! It's the mistake I made, otherwise, it would be perfect..
It's a race you could show yourself, no matter it is your speed, creativity, or even your body.
It's also one of the few public events you could get naked, get drunk, get crazy and even pee on the street, very special ... ha ha..
This year, I wanna to do something different, besides my home-made hat, I also tried to run with my 20D camera. Of course, though the camera was pretty heavy, it didn't let me down.
The first thing I did after we parked the car was look for naked people....I had to confess ..
Once we were on the street, we started to see more and more people with/without costume,
with/without clothes.
There were thousands of people on the street, you had to be here to feel the passion and heat, even it was a really cold day. People were laughing, chatting, taking pictures, and ready to get high again.
The lobsters
This couple are not dare to get naked, so they fake about it.
Apparently, this guy is so dare to get naked, and believe me, the "thing" is real.
The only question I had was, how could it stay so big under this kind of weather.
And of course, we have a couple here, this time the size looked much more normal,
I mean both of them.
The lady seemed to be a little bit shy, but it's she who called the grandpa to take the photo.
Yi, Crissy, and Will. We were ready to get going.
A girl in front of us, I saw a tiny pin holding her bra, she must have planning to do something. I was keeping my camera ready ...in sports mode.
But, it was really cold and in the end, she changed her mind and put her T-shirt back on.
What a big loss.
The race started, and we were pushed to the starting line.
The floaters are ready on the side, they were the last part of the race.
Okay, 8:24am, I passed the starting line. I knew about this from the news later that night.
in fact, at 8:34am, someone already passed the finish line. What kind of speed is that !!
passing through, please, someone got hurt!!
green eyes fireman
Viking girl with beer ...
I don't know who they are, someone knows ?
Run away brides.
real fireman with hot girls
Caterpillar. I saw them last year as well.
The pope with a baby sucking his XXX , I liked what he did to his chest hair.
A lot of Elvis , you could see him everywhere in any race.
Two ladies and a muscle man. Nice size, man ..
Princess Liya and the worm alien
This "lady" is really big.
the blue men and pink hair girl
A group of naked people, nice.
Lovely couple. I like this one.
fake boobs cheering group. one suck for $5 bucks. touch is free.
fake ass ladies.
The hooters.
me crossing the finish line.
Salonpas volunteer, who helps to put some Salonpas on your legs.
Well, it didn't work very well.
free tasting
lunch, they are not free.
me running with my camera.
More pictures are in here
I didn't stay long to take more pictures after the finish line, why ?
Because it was so windy and way too cold ! Even I tried to run slower, I still managed
to the finish line in 1hr 27 mins, same reason, it was too cold to walk. I had to keep moving
to keep warm. So. for the next year, the 100th Bay to Breaker , I have a new strategy.
That is, I will run full speed to the finish line, hopefully I could run into 1 hr, and then
walk my way back to the starting line. This way, I could enjoy both the run, and the
funny part of the race, which is always in the last part of the line.
